Hermida hits grand slam, Marlins rally from six runs down for win

Jun 9, 2007 - 6:25 AM
MIAMI (Ticker) -- For the second time this week, the Tampa Bay
Devil Rays have snatched defeat from the jaws of victory. This
time, it was the state nemesis Florida Marlins doing the honors.

After blowing a six-run lead against Toronto earlier in the
week, the Devil Rays saw another six-run lead evaporate in a
14-8 loss to the Marlins in the opener of a three-game series at
Dolphin Stadium on Friday.

Florida, coming off a 7-4 road trip, struck for 12 runs over a
three-inning span, highlighted by Jeremy Hermida's second career
grand slam in the fifth and a bases-clearing triple by Josh
Willingham in the seventh as the Marlins unleashed an 15-hit
barrage on six Tampa Bay pitchers.

"It was definitely not a normal game," Hermida said. "But these
types of games come along every now and then and you just have
to battle through them and never give up. It doesn't matter what
the score is after four innings, it's what it is after nine
innings that matters."

The Devil Rays, who had lost 12 of their last 17 games against
the Marlins, broke out quickly after a nearly 1 hour, 30-minute
rain delay at the outset with a show of force against Florida
starter Byung-Hyun Kim.

Carl Crawford was hit by a pitch, stole second and advanced to
third on an errant throw from catcher Matt Treanor. Ty
Wigginton then scored Crawford with a double.

Carlos Pena walked and scored along with Wigginton when Delmon
Young's single was misplayed by center fielder Reggie
Abercrombie. Young advanced to second on the throw to the
plate. Brendan Harris then doubled home Young for a 4-0
advantage.

"It's very frustrating," Tampa Bay Manager Joe Maddon said.
"Again, we come out and we continued to swing the bats well and
we get a big lead and we give it up again. That's just
unacceptable.

Florida loaded the bases with one out in its half of the first,
but Tampa Bay starter J.P. Howell struck out Willingham and
Hermida to end the threat.

Howell finished with a career-high nine strikeouts but allowed
six runs and eight hits in five innings. Brian Stokes (2-6)
relieved Howell and took the loss, allowing three runs and three
hits in two-thirds of an inning.

"It was good that we were able to come back because it looked
like they had us by the throat," Willingham said. "Howell kind
of stymied us there for awhile, but fortunately we were able to
wear him down a little and then we got to their bullpen and were
able to do some damage."

The Marlins again found themselves in a bases-loaded situation
in the second inning, and this time they didn't come away empty.

Dan Uggla's two-run single to right-center scored Aaron Boone
and Treanor, who walked and singled respectively to start the
inning. Hanley Ramirez's infield single reloaded the bases, but
Miguel Cabrera grounded into a double play. Although they cut
the lead in half, the Marlins stranded six batters in the first
two innings.

Tampa Bay made Florida pay even more for that lack of production
as it extended the margin to 7-2 in the third inning on a
two-run single by Harris and an RBI single to center by Howell.

Kim was then relieved by Renyel Pinto, who retired Crawford on a
fielder's choice to end the third. Kim failed to win his third
straight decision and lasted just 2 2/3 innings, allowing a
season-high seven runs - six earned - and seven hits. Kim had
allowed three runs to Tampa Bay the last time he faced them.

Winning pitcher Justin Miller(2-0) took the mound for Florida
with the bases loaded and no outs in the sixth inning, but
retired all three batters he faced to keep the Marlins within
striking distance.

Florida rallied all the way back from an 8-2 deficit in the
sixth via back-to-back RBI hits by Ramirez and Cabrera, who
ripped a double to the left field wall, and a go-ahead
bases-loaded walk to Boone which provided a 9-8 edge.

"These guys just kept battling and battling; that's what it
takes sometimes," Gonzalez said. "The games aren't always pretty
but at the end of the day it how they turn out for you. Today
it turned out well."

In yet another in a string of bases-loaded situations by both
clubs, it was Tampa Bay's turn to fill them in the seventh. This
time Tankersley came through by getting carlos Pena to fly out
to right.

Tampa Bay's night went from bad to worse when catcher Dioner
Navarro suffered a throat injury in the bottom of the sixth
inning. He was attended to by paramedics and taken off the
field in a stretcher. It was the second significant injury of
the night for the Devil Rays, who lost center fielder B.J. Upton
to a left quad strain while legging out a grounder in the first
inning.